Device for producing thread windings on a loom

ABSTRACT

A device on a loom for the production of thread windings of predetermined length which comprises a winding element, a rotor means for winding a thread about the winding element, the winding element having a winding zone on which the thread is wound and a delivery zone from which the thread is delivered to a means, e.g. a shuttle, for inserting the thread into an open shed, and displacement means for periodically displacing a given number of turns of the thread wound on the winding zone as a thread winding to the delivery zone. The winding zone comprises a measuring portion for the thread to be wound on that has a cross-section of substantially constant circumference and a narrower portion that is adjacent to said measuring portion having a cross-section of smaller circumference.

United States Patent Strauss 1 June 27, 1972 [72] Inventor: Edgar H. Strauss, Ruti, Zurich, Switzerland [73] Assignee: Ruti Machinery Works Ltd., (formerly [22] Filed: Feb.2, 1971 [21] Appl.No.: 111,932

3,575,216 4/1971 Strauss ..l39/l2 Primary Examiner-Henry S. Jaudon Attorney-Donald D. Denton [57] ABSTRACT A device on a loom for the production of thread windings of predetermined length which comprises a winding element, a rotor means for winding a thread about the winding element, the winding element having a winding zone on which the thread is wound and a delivery zone from which the thread is delivered to a means, e.g. a shuttle, for inserting the thread into an open shed, and displacement means for periodically displacing a given number of turns of the thread wound on the winding zone as a thread winding to the delivery zone. The winding zone comprises a measuring portion for the thread to be wound on that has a cross-section of substantially constant circumference and a narrower portion that is adjacent to said measuring portion having a cross-section of smaller circumference.

8 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures DEVICE FOR PRODUCING THREAD WINDINGS ON A LOOM This invention relates to a device on a loom for the production of thread windings of predetermined length having rotor means for winding a thread around a winding element, and means for displacing each of the thread windings formed by a given number of turns of the thread wound on the winding ele ment from a winding zone to a delivery zone on the element with a minimum of thread breaks.

It is known to produce thread windings which consist of a given number of individual thread turns and which have the same thread length. The windings are so formed by a rotor which winds a thread constantly about a winding zone of a winding element. As soon as the winding has the prescribed number of turns, it is displaced along the winding element from the winding zone into the delivery zone. When weaving with a wave-type loom or multi-phase weaving machine, the winding in the delivery zone is transferred to a shuttle and is picked as a weft into an open shed.

When a winding is displaced from the winding zone to the delivery zone, the thread is not out between the winding which is displaced and the winding which is formed anew by the rotor. It is therefore necessary that one or more turns of the winding being formed are pulled out in this operation in the direction of displacement so that the thread does not break. In general, this presents no difficulties, since the winding element is designed so that the thread can glide easily on it. But it has been found that the gliding is nevertheless insufficient for certain yarns or threads. In these cases the thread breaks during the displacement of the thread winding. Also, it is desirable in the interest of clean working that a minimum of turns exists between the displaced winding and the winding being formed.

The above-mentioned disadvantage is eliminated by the present invention. Thus this invention contemplates a device for producing thread windings which is further characterized in that the winding zone comprises a measuring portion for the thread to be wound on which has a cross-section of practically constant circumference, and in that another narrower portion with a cross-section of a smaller circumference is arranged adjoining the first portion at the end toward or adjacent to the delivery zone.

The invention will be described more fully with reference to two of its embodiments and to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I shows a view of a device according to the invention from the side;

FIG. 1a shows a detail of FIG. 1 on an enlarged scale; and

FIG. 2 shows an end view of the device with reference to the left end of the view shown in FIG. 1.

In the drawings the same elements are designated by the same reference numerals.

The winding body or element 11 has a narrow, blade-shaped form and is provided with a slot 12 extending in its longitudinal direction. The element is rotatably mounted in rotor 13 by means of bearing 14. The winding element 11 is prevented from turning by a retaining member 15. The direction of rotation of rotor 13 corresponds to the direction indicated by arrow 16 in FIG. 2. Rotor 13 is provided with an eyelet 17. Through the eyelet extends weft thread 18, which is taken from a supply roll 11 (not shown), from which it extends through a longitudinal bore in the axis of rotor 13 toward eyelet 17. It can be seen that weft thread 18 is constantly wound on winding element 11 during the rotation of rotor 13. The retaining member bears with its two pins 19 on the bladeshaped winding element 11. The retaining member 15 is carried by a rod 20. The rod slides in its longitudinal direction and is under a continuous bias by a compression spring 22.

A pin 23 can be displaced in guide 24 (shown in FIG. 2) parallel to winding element 11. This displacement of pin 23 serves to displace each of the weft windings 25 along winding element II. Guide 24 is carried by a rod 26 which is slidingly mounted in bearing 27 and can be displaced in the bearing toward winding element 11 by pushing. A spring 28 tends to displace the rod in the opposite direction away from the winding element. When this is the case, i.e., when guide 24 and rod 26 are displaced to the left, as shown in FIG. 2, pin 23 does not protrude into slot 12. The control means for pushing rod 26 and displacing pin 23 parallel to the winding element are not shown.

In the present embodiment it is assumed that the thread windings are transferred to picking elements or shuttles 40 of a wave-type loom. These shuttles 40 are supplied in constant succession from shuttle box 29. The mechanism and construction of the shuttle box is not shown since it is not needed for understanding of the present invention. Shuttles 28 each have an elongated body that is conchoidal in shape. They have two side walls 30, each of which carries on its inner side a plush insert 31. These two side walls 30 are joined with each other along the seam 32, but they are separated from each other along the rest of the circumference of the elongated body. The shuttles 40 can therefore be pushed over blade 11 at the position shown in the drawing.

When shuttle 40 is pushed in operation over winding element 11, the element arrives between the two plush inserts 31 and the inserts are placed on both sides over an individual thread winding 25. Then shuttle 40 is moved to the left as shown in FIG.I, where it enters the shed of the wave-type loom. The inserts 31 hold the thread winding 25 in the interior of the shuttle 40 so that this winding 25 is drawn off winding element 11.

When a shuttle 40 is pushed down, it is held by the walls of shuttle box 29 in the position shown in the drawing. As soon as it is above element 11, the element is held by the shuttle 40. It is thus no longer necessary that winding element 11 be held by retaining member 15. By pushing against rod 20 in the direction against the pressure of compression spring 22, that is, with respect to FIG. 2 to the right, the two pins 19 are lifted from winding body 11. Before shuttle 40 in shuttle box 29 is moved down by the shuttle-directing mechanism therein, pin 23 is moved to the rear and to the right end of slot 12 (as shown in FIG. 1) and is moved again forward at this point. This position is indicated by reference numeral 23 in FIG. 1. Then shuttle 40 is pushed completely over winding element 11.

During the entire procedure described above and to be described below in greater detail, rotor 13 turns constantly and winds weft thread 18 about winding element 11. The individual turns of thread slide down along the inclined flanks or edges 33 of winding element 11 and are placed side-by-side in the range or measuring portion 36 of constant diameter. Each new turn of thread pushes the existing turns somewhat to the left, forming a one-layer thread winding which extends over zone 34. This zone 34 is called the winding zone of the winding element.

In the above-described procedure, shuttle 40 was pushed over blade element 11, and pin 23 was brought into position 23', in which the pin protrudes through slot 12. Subsequently, a shuttle 40 is displaced to the left by means not shown and at the same time pin 23 is moved along guide 24 to the left as shown in FIG. 1. The thread winding 25, which is in the delivery zone designated by reference numeral 35, is thus removed from winding element 11 by shuttle 40 and plush inserts 31, respectively, and thus transferred to shuttle 40. This loaded shuttle 40 is then inserted into a shed formed during the weaving process and places winding 25 as a weft thread between the warps.

When pin 23 is moved from the position 23' to the left, it pushes a new weft winding 25 to the left. As mentioned above, the pins 19 of retaining member 15 are lifted from winding element 11 during this process so that a winding 25 can be readily pushed or displaced along the element 11. During the displacement, new turns are constantly wound on winding zone 34. If the winding element had a constant cross-section, the first and possibly a few other windings of the new turns on the winding zone would be pulled out lengthwise by the displacement of winding 25 in the direction toward delivery zone 35 of the winding element. This is generally possible because the winding element is so designed that the thread glides easily on it. But there are weft materials, like synthetic fibers and blends thereof with natural fibers, which break occasionally during the displacement of the winding, despite good gliding properties.

In accordance with this invention, the portion of the winding body 11 forming the winding zone 34 is shaped in order to avoid this breaking. This zone includes a measuring portion 36 adjoining the inclined edges 33 whose cross-section has a substantially constant circumference or periphery. At the end of portion 36 toward the delivery zone (35) is provided a narrowing or tapering portion 37 with a cross-section ofa smaller circumference or periphery. The circumference, i.e. peripheral dimensions, of a crosssection of portion 37 are at first greatly and then increasingly less tapered, The smallest periphery of the cross-section of the tapered portion 37 is about 3 to 8 percent less than the periphery of the cross-section of portion 36. The extension or length of portion 36 in the longitudinal direction of winding element 11 is about 4 to 6 times the diameter of the weft thread 18 to be wound on the element.

lnstead of a constant tapering, the narrowed portion 37 can also be stepped, as shown in FIG. 1a. This figure shows the upper edge of zone 34 on an enlarged scale with the increasingly weaker taper of portion 37. An embodiment showing a stepped narrowing is shown by the broken or dash line 39.

From the end of the tapered portion 37 to the left of the winding element 11, the circumference or periphery of the cross-section of the element decreases very little. This is achieved by decreasing the thickness of the cross-section of the blade-shaped element 11 while maintaining a constant width.

When a thread winding is displaced along winding element 11 from winding zone 34 to delivery zone 35, the thread portion extending between the displaced winding and the winding being formed, is supplied in such a way that (apart from pulling out a half to a full turn in the longitudinal direction of the winging element), the turns which are already above the tapered portion 37 are tightened so that they bear on this portion. The thread length between the windings required by the displacement is supplied by the bearing of the thread turns on portion 37, i.e. by taking up the slack of the thread turns above the tapered portion. The total length of the individual windings 25 is nevertheless maintained, because the length of each turn is given or determined by the circumference of portion 36. In this connection it should be pointed out that pin 23 is so controlled that it pushes a winding 25 again to the left after a given number of revolutions of rotor l3.

After pin 23 has pushed a winding 25 under retaining member 15, pins 19 bear again on winding element 11 and prevent the element from being set in rotation after the picking element 40 has been pushed away from winding body 11. At the same time the pins 19 prevent the turns, which are at the extreme left on winding zone 34 in FIG. 1 from moving to the left in the case of a weft material which slips or glides easily.

With the movement of pin 23 to the left, shuttle 40 has been displaced to the left away from winding element 11. Then pin 23 moves again to the rear and to the right (according to FlG.

1) and is again pushed to position 23' throughslot 12, after a given number of revolutions of rotor 13.

It can be seen that it is possible with the above-described arrangement that there is only a half turn 38 between the two windings that must be stretched in the longitudinal direction of winding body 11. Thus a very clean transfer of the windings 25 to the shuttle 40 is obtained when the invention is used in a wave-type loom.

It will be understood that the control means for effecting periodic displacement of windings along the winding element and for introducing a shuttle into an open shed as well as the operation of a wave-hype loom are described in greater detail in applicants copen mg application, Ser. No. 18,737 filed on Apr. 23, 1969, which disclosure is incorporated by reference in this application.

It will also be appreciated that the device of this invention can also be used in other looms, for example, in looms where the weft is picked by means ofajet of a fluid.

What is claimed is:

l. A device on a loom for the production of thread windings of predetermined length which comprises a winding element, a rotor means for winding a thread about said winding element, said winding element having a winding zone at one end on which the thread is wound by said rotor means and a delivery zone at the other end from which the thread is delivered to a means for inserting the thread into an open shed of the loom, and displacement means for periodically displacing each of the windings formed by a given number of turns of the thread wound on the winding zone to the delivery zone, said winding zone comprising a measuring portion for the thread to be wound on that has a cross-section of substantially constant circumference and a narrower portion adjoining said measuring portion and extending therefrom toward the delivery zone, said narrower portion having a cross-section of smaller circumference than that of the measuring portion.

2. The device of claim 1, in which the measuring portion extends in a longitudinal direction of the winding element over a distance that is about 4 to 6 times the diameter of the thread to be wound on said winding element.

3. The device of claim 1, in which the narrower portion of said winding zone has a tapered configuration which is progressively less tapered along its length towards the delivery zone.

4. The device of claim 1, in which the narrower portion is formed by a step configuration provided at the end of the measuring portion.

5. The device of claim 1, in which the smallest circumference of the cross-section of the narrower portion is about 3 to 8 percent less than the circumference of the cross-section of the measuring portion.

6. The device of claim 1, in which the cross-section of the winding element between the winding zone and the delivery zone has a decreasing circumference.

7. The device of claim 6, in which said winding element is in the form of an elongated substantially flat blade and the circumference between the winding zone and the delivery zone is decreased by decreasing the thickness of the blade while maintaining a constant width.

8. The device of claim 1, in which said loom is a wave-type loom. 

1. A device on a loom for the production of thread windings of predetermined length which comprises a winding element, a rotor means for winding a thread about said winding element, said winding element having a winding zone at one end on which the thread is wound by said rotor means and a delivery zone at the other end from which the thread is delivered to a means for inserting the thread into an open shed of the loom, and displacement means for periodically displacing each of the windings formed by a given number of turns of the thread wound on the winding zone to the delivery zone, said winding zone comprising a measuring portion for the thread to be wound on that has a cross-section of substantially constant circumference and a narrower portion adjoining said measuring portion and extending therefrom toward the delivery zone, said narrower portion having a cross-section of smaller circumference than that of the measuring portion.
 2. The device of claim 1, in which the measuring portion extends in a longitudinal direction of the winding element over a distance that is about 4 to 6 times the diameter of the thread to be wound on said winding element.
 3. The device of claim 1, in which the narrower portion of said winding zone has a tapered configuration which is progressively less tapered along its length towards the delivery zone.
 4. The device of claim 1, in which the narrower portion is formed by a step configuration provided at the end of the measuring portion.
 5. The device of claim 1, in which the smallest circumference of the cross-section of the narrower portion is about 3 to 8 percent less than the circumference of the cross-section of the measuring portion.
 6. The device of claim 1, in which the cross-section of the winding element between the winding zone and the delivery zone has a decreasing circumference.
 7. The device of claim 6, in which said winding element is in the form of an elongated substantially flat bladE and the circumference between the winding zone and the delivery zone is decreased by decreasing the thickness of the blade while maintaining a constant width.
 8. The device of claim 1, in which said loom is a wave-type loom. 